Roberto Martinez's surprise 4-3-3 was just insane enough to confuse the Brazil defence throughout the first half of their quarter-final, which puts them in a strong position to do something similar on the counter-attack against France - particularly through the middle.

The time has come to start a new chapter in my life and for this I've asked the club to let me go. "I ask everyone, and especially our followers, to understand that." he added. But he hinted his time at the Santiago Bernabeu could be up immediately after the last Champions League success and Juventus captured his signature.

Fellow-forward Andrej Kramaric, who had a brief stint at surprise 2016 Premier League champions Leicester and is now at Germany's Hoffenheim, said he had a lot of respect for England but also hoped Croatia could make the final as the smallest-ever nation.

Porte, who lost 51 seconds in the opening stage after being delayed behind a pile-up, helped his team edge out Team Sky by four seconds after they completed the 35.5 kilometre circuit around Cholet in 38 minutes 46 seconds. "It was an unbelievable day and a really hard test for us", said Froome after the race. Peter Sagan , in the yellow j...

I don't expect either side to sit back and play negative. But it was by no means a purely negative approach as the French offered their own danger on the break, perfectly illustrated when Paul Pogba's delivery sent Kylian Mbappe racing toward goal and Belgium were thankful their keeper Thibaut Courtois was alert to snuff out the danger.

The Algerian then headed for the City Football Academy where he officially signed a five-year contract with the champions, who have sent a message to their title rivals. Leicester rejected City's offer of £50m plus winger Patrick Roberts - valued at £15m - in January, and Mahrez missed two games during the saga. "Riyad is a hugely talented player...

The victor will face either England or Croatia in the final. Belgium's Romelu Lukaku and France's Kylian Mbappe will face off in the World Cup semifinal. Deschamps had appeared cautious to allow players such as Mbappe free rein early on in Russian Federation, but there is the growing feeling that he is now offering more attacking licenc...

Mundo Deportivo report the Italian has told Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich not to sell Hazard or Willian if he's to take charge of the first-team. The French striker will face off against Chelsea clubmate Hazard in Tuesday evening's tie at the Krestovsky Stadium. Chelsea forward Eden Hazard has recently been the subject of intense trans...

This leaves us with 4 teams for the semi-finals which will take place today, July 10. "It is an opportunity in our careers and we have to grab it with both hands". Whereas France has won 24 matches. France's Aujourd'hui en France newspaper prepared a full-page spread featuring the two popular comic characters and said it was more than a match.

Despite going AWOL for 10 days at the beginning of February, Mahrez put in some fantastic performances for Leicester during the second half of the season. The former Le Havre man scored 13 goals in 41 appearances for Leicester last term and was instrumental in their shock Premier League title win two seasons ago.

He said he had spent nine fantastic years at the Bernabeu. "My only feeling is of an enormous gratitude for this club, for these fans and for this city". The statement added: "Beyond the conquered titles, the trophies achieved and the triumphs achieved in the playing fields during these nine years, Cristiano Ronaldo has been an example of dedic...

William's father Robert died following an accident at the North West 200 in 2008, while his uncle Joey was killed in a crash in Estonia in 2000. William Dunlop was previously a victor at the North West 200 and Ulster GP. "Such a lovely fella on & off the bike". He added that Dunlop was a passionate and dedicated rider , and that he will be m...

All we can say is that for two of these four sides that answer will come sooner rather than later, as today (*producer jump zoom*): one of these nations is going home. But there is a major doubt over the participation of Vrsaljko, who hobbled off with a knee injury in extra-time during the quarter-final win over Russian Federation in Sochi.

The 40-year-old has won a host of trophies during his illustrious career, but the Champions League has so far eluded him despite reaching the final on three separate occasions. "He'll keep playing for as long as feels like a No 1. They have some extraordinarily talented players and an extraordinary coach". Now the former Italian global is said ...

And the Chelsea winger will be eager to make his mark against France , just as he did in showdowns with Panama, Tunisia, Japan and Brazil at the finals. He's doing plenty of the things strikers rarely get credit for. France , world champions in 1998, are slight favourites to go through according to most bookmakers, but Belgium tend to step ...

The 22-year-old played all five of Uruguay's World Cup matches in Russian Federation, as they crashed out in the quarter-finals following a 2-0 defeat by France . Torreira joined Sampdoria in 2015 and made 71 appearances for the Italian club. Torreira was given the green light to complete his switch to Arsenal after the South American side l...

Fernando Torres' new club appears to be Japanese side Sagan Tosu after his arrival was leaked. Sagan Tosu has been in Japan's top flight J.League since 2012. "I wanted a new challenge in a completely different place". "I have had offers from France, Germany and even one from Spain but at no point did I ever think about going to another Euro...

According to various reports on Tuesday, which are as yet unconfirmed, Ronaldo will sign a four-year deal with the Italian side and will earn a reported €30m every season. "I only have feelings of enormous gratitude for this club, for this sport and for this city". Here's what the 80-year-old told an Italian television station, per beIN Sports: ...

Quick-Step Floors nicked third place in a time of 38:53, while Adam Yates' Mitchelton-Scott team were a further two seconds behind before some much larger time gaps further down the order. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) lost almost a minute to his chief rivals, while Vincenzo Nibali, Romain Bardet and Ilnur Zakarin also losing decent chunks of time.

Don Balon are reporting that the 26-year-old wants to head to the Bernabeu to replace Cristiano Ronaldo to aid his chances of claiming the Ballon d'Or. Boosting the club's coffers would be the most obvious reason for Barcelona to sell their new star man. And in any case, PSG would first need to submit the offer with the club and not just the play...